ATLA: Love and Limerence
by averiarose
Summary: A collection of femslash short stories and one-shots featuring various characters from Avatar the Last Airbender


"Will you go to homecoming with me? Would you be my date to homecoming? Can I bring you to date my homecom–"

Realizing her fumble, Azula rubs the exhaustion from her bloodshoot eyes. _Fuck, this is useless. I'm just going to make a fool of myself in front of the entire cheerleading team. _

Sulking further in the driver's seat of Zuko's black Jeep, she contemplated the events of the past week. With term finals ending and winter break just around the corner, the student body of Republic High School had been in a snowstorm of activity in preparation for the Winter Ball. A rare party-goer, Azula had been deadset on spending the night in her room, perfecting her killshot technique on the latest _Call of Duty_ game.

That is, until two days ago.

Roaming the halls during her free period, well-attuned ears caught the soft lilt of her off-again-on-again-though-currently-off-again girlfriend. Stopping just outside the girl's restroom, her body subconsciously leaned in.

"Ugh, I know Sokka tries his hardest, but who asks someone to a school dance by passing notes in class? What's worse was that he shaped it like a boomerang, so it got lodged in Professor Iroh's beard. Thank the spirits that I wasn't forced to read the message out loud."

The gentle tinkling laugh that follows sends an ache straight to Azula's heart.

"Oh, but don't you think it's just the sweetest story? Your aura is glowing just from talking about it!"

"What about you, though? Didn't you already get asked by Haru and Teo?"

"Well yeah, but…"

"Don't tell me you're waiting for Azula to ask. I'm sorry, girl, but she's not exactly the dancing type."

Hands clench in anger. Despite an intense desire to punch through the wood paneling, Azula retreats instead, stalking off before she could hear Ty Lee's reply.

_Disgusting. What a waste of time. _

Yet, here she was. Shivering her ass off at six in the morning in the school's empty parking lot, sleep deprived from spending the last two hours in the dimly lit kitchen of her father's mansion, cursing at the impossible instructions on the back of the instant pancake mix, inflating and deflating balloons until they were all approximately equal in diameter.

_Come on, soldier. It's now or never. _Throwing open the side door, she steps out of the Jeep like a general readying for battle. Clutching her homemade weapons, she briskly crosses the snow-covered asphalt towards the gym's side entrance.

Hearing the music, her confident march falters, until she's just a few feet from the archway.

A shaky inhale.

Two rapt knocks.

"Suki, who's outside?"

Watching the double doors creak open, Azula felt her heart stutter. In typical Ty Lee fashion, the girl appeared, dressed in sinfully tight spandex shorts and the school's standard gym shirt, a white top with "Kyoshi Warriors" printed in faded green. Taking in the cheerleader's appearance, her eyes drift subconsciously lower, noticing that the shirt had been half-hazardly cut until it reached just above her bellybutton.

"Azula?"

Golden orbs snap up, embarrassed at almost being caught. Azula opened her mouth, but the rehearsed words escaped her. Throat uncomfortably dry, she began to feel the heat of a blush creep up her neck.

Ignoring the several eyes watching from over Ty Lee's shoulder, she took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders.

"Here."

Awkwardly shoving the plate of chocolate-strawberry pancakes and balloon bouquet into Ty Lee's hands, Azula offered a half-hearted smile.

"I overheard your conversation. In the girl's bathroom, I mean. Not that I was spying on you. I was just on my way to class, and I recognized your voice and– "

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she shoves her empty hands in the pockets of her red denim jacket.

"I'm sorry I'm not very good at this," Azula quietly admitted, eyes fixed on the cracked concrete beneath her feet.

Recalling her erratic behavior that morning, she lets out a bitter chuckle.

"Honestly, I probably wouldn't be much better as a date. So don't worry about giving me an answer. I'll just, uh, let you get back to practice."

Backing away slowly, Azula's escape is cut short as a manicured hand manages to clutch the lapel of her jacket, no easy feat while juggling ten oversized balloons.

Golden eyes go wide as a soft kiss lands on her cheek.

"Yes."


End file.
